John Zorn

Percussionist-composer Gregg Bendian cut his teeth with John Zorn, Bill Frisell and William Parker on the outer limits of the New York jazz scene, and here he celebrates his 50th birthday with a show that attempts to encapsulate a career that included an album-length noisy feast inspired by illustrator Jack Kirby, an acclaimed reinterpretation of late-period John Coltrane called "Interstellar Space Revisited" and much more. This all-star show's roster includes a wealth of Los Angeles-area artists who have performed with Bendian, including drummer Alex Cline, trumpeter John Fumo, keyboardist David Witham and violist-arranger Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.

Percussionist-composer Gregg Bendian cut his teeth with John Zorn, Bill Frisell and William Parker on the outer limits of the New York jazz scene, and here he celebrates his 50th birthday with a show that attempts to encapsulate a career that included an album-length noisy feast inspired by illustrator Jack Kirby, an acclaimed reinterpretation of late-period John Coltrane called "Interstellar Space Revisited" and much more. This all-star show's roster includes a wealth of Los Angeles-area artists who have performed with Bendian, including drummer Alex Cline, trumpeter John Fumo, keyboardist David Witham and violist-arranger Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.

For avant-garde musician John Zorn, the naked Japanese women in S&M bondage that adorn his "Torture Garden" CD are an aesthetic statement that cannot be separated from the discordant jazz he creates. For many in the Asian American community, they are flat-out pornography. Earlier this year, several national groups called on Zorn to withdraw two of his CDs from distribution, condemning the covers for portraying Asian women in a stereotypical and demeaning fashion.

As cultural paradoxes go, new music and jazz legend John Zorn is masterly. The hyper-hyphenate composer-saxophonist-improviser-record label owner and all-purpose "downtown" NYC scenester has long been crazily prolific and active, although cloaked in mystery. He tends to operate outside of existing, established circles, apart from the ones he creates and nurtures.

As cultural paradoxes go, new music and jazz legend John Zorn is masterly. The hyper-hyphenate composer-saxophonist-improviser-record label owner and all-purpose "downtown" NYC scenester has long been crazily prolific and active, although cloaked in mystery. He tends to operate outside of existing, established circles, apart from the ones he creates and nurtures.

Three missing Rialto women, sought by police after their bloodstained car was found abandoned in North Hollywood last week, turned up safe in Utah on Wednesday night and admitted that they faked their disappearance to gain sympathy from family members, Los Angeles police said. "It was all a hoax," Lt. John Zorn said. Los Angeles and Rialto police had been investigating the disappearance of Suzanne Ballinger, 38, her 17-year-old daughter, Sherry Richards, and Sherry's friend, Laura Fleming, 18.

Thrash punk, jazz, pop, rock, country, Tin Pan Alley-- avant-garde composer/alto saxman Zorn and company stirred all these ingredients together and poured the bubbling, ballistically puissant mixture into a cracked, dirty tumbler. "Naked City" (the name of both the album and the group) offers a wild ride into the soft white underbelly of modern America.

A police task force investigating the murders of 16 prostitutes in the Los Angeles area has arrested 12 suspects for a variety of other offenses but has yet to turn up the serial killer. "We found one guy who raped a 12-year-old girl and another who had a murder warrant from three homicides that happened about 10 years ago," said Lt. John Zorn, who heads the 40-member Southside Serial Slayer Task Force. Zorn said his men also picked up suspects in armed robbery, battery and auto theft cases.

The body of a young woman was found dumped near the USC campus early today, but police said she was probably not a victim of the Southside Serial Slayer. Lt. John Zorn, head of the task force investigating the 17 serial murders, said an autopsy will determine whether the woman was slain by the multiple killer. The victim, a black woman in her 20s, was found sprawled on a walkway between two homes in the 1200 block of West 37th Place about 6 a.m.

A man walking alone was shot and killed in a South-Central neighborhood, police said Thursday. Tyrone Armstead, 29, of Los Angeles, was walking in the 100 block of East 99th Street when he was shot in the upper torso about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, Lt. John Zorn said. Police had not yet located any witnesses, and it was not known if the gunman acted alone. Though police believe the slaying may have been be gang-related, a motive for the shooting had not been established and there were no arrests.

For avant-garde musician John Zorn, the naked Japanese women in S&M bondage that adorn his "Torture Garden" CD are an aesthetic statement that cannot be separated from the discordant jazz he creates. For many in the Asian American community, they are flat-out pornography. Earlier this year, several national groups called on Zorn to withdraw two of his CDs from distribution, condemning the covers for portraying Asian women in a stereotypical and demeaning fashion.

Thrash punk, jazz, pop, rock, country, Tin Pan Alley-- avant-garde composer/alto saxman Zorn and company stirred all these ingredients together and poured the bubbling, ballistically puissant mixture into a cracked, dirty tumbler. "Naked City" (the name of both the album and the group) offers a wild ride into the soft white underbelly of modern America.

Three missing Rialto women, sought by police after their bloodstained car was found abandoned in North Hollywood last week, turned up safe in Utah on Wednesday night and admitted that they faked their disappearance to gain sympathy from family members, Los Angeles police said. "It was all a hoax," Lt. John Zorn said. Los Angeles and Rialto police had been investigating the disappearance of Suzanne Ballinger, 38, her 17-year-old daughter, Sherry Richards, and Sherry's friend, Laura Fleming, 18.